Mechanical model for the artificial triggering of dry snow slab avalanches

The paper shows a coupled stress/energy criterion for spontaneous and artificial triggering of dry snow slab avalanches, starting from a defect in the weak layer of the snowpack. The model takes into account both the tensional and the energetic approach. According to Leguillon [2002] and Cornetti & oth. [2006], a comparison between these two approaches is suggested, assuming that both should be simultaneously verified for the fracture's motion in Mode II. Considering the specific energy of different kinds of explosives and evaluating their transmittance capacity through the different snow layers, the method is applied to the artificial detachment of avalanches by explosive. Finally, thanks to the computation of the equivalent load (through the tensional approach) and of the energy induced by the shock wave (through the energetic approach), the effectiveness of the model is checked for the artificial detachment of snow slab avalanches.